Tarkle vs LucidLink: a shared drive or branded file sharing
LucidLink mounts a shared drive for real-time access. Tarkle sends and collects client files.
LucidLink is better when a team works live inside large files on a shared drive. Tarkle is better when a freelancer or agency sends finished files to clients and collects uploads back. If you are looking for a LucidLink alternative for sending files to clients, read on.
We make Tarkle, so read this as one vendor's view and check the sources. LucidLink facts come from LucidLink's own pages, read in November 2026. Tarkle facts come from Tarkle's live pricing page and its feature pages.
What LucidLink is
LucidLink describes its product this way: "A filespace is a shared cloud drive that mounts on your desktop, enabling real-time file access and collaboration" (pricing page, read in November 2026). Its Business plan is described as "Instant access to shared projects of any size for distributed teams."
On security, the same page says "Zero-knowledge encryption ensures only you and your collaborators can access your data."
What LucidLink offers
LucidLink prices per member. On its pricing page, read in November 2026:
Starter: $7 per member per month, with 100 GB included per member and up to 10 members.
Business: $27 per member per month, with 400 GB included per member and up to 25 members.
Extra storage costs $7 per 100 GB per month on Starter and $8 per 100 GB per month on Business. Business includes a 30-day free trial. Each plan sets how many active guest links a filespace can have: 10 on Starter and 100 on Business.
Guests are read-only. LucidLink's guest access update, last updated 31 August 2026, says "Guests can view and download but not edit, and links are generated by admins." Auto-expiring links are available on Business and Enterprise plans.
What Tarkle does
These are the jobs Tarkle covers for freelancers and agencies:
Send files by link. Share files by link: pick files or folders, get one link and send it anywhere. No account needed to download. Pro and Agency can send large files up to 200 GB with one link.
Control who opens it. Require a password before anyone can open a transfer. Set a date after which a transfer or request link stops working. Let people look at files without offering a download. Disable a link in one click when plans change. More on each: password protection, link expiration, view-only transfers and revoke access instantly.
Collect files back. A file request lets you collect files from anyone with one link, into the folder you choose. You can set a deadline on a file request.
See what happened. Use transfer status to see whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded.
Brand it. Free includes custom branding and a custom domain. On Agency, the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink is replaced by your agency name once White label is on and the Agency plan is active.
Run a client portal. On Pro, the client portal gives your recipients a branded place to receive and manage the files you share with them.
White label. Agency is a 100% white-label platform. Your clients log in and manage their files and team on your own domain (white label for agencies).
Import what you have. Free includes importing a file from Dropbox or Google Drive.
Plans on Tarkle's pricing page: Free is $0 forever, with 1 workspace, 5 GB of storage and uploads up to 1 GB. Pro is $29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly ($228 a year), with 2 workspaces, 3 TB of storage and uploads up to 200 GB. Agency is $59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly ($588 a year), and includes 20 workspaces for your clients and 6 TB of cloud storage.
Who should choose LucidLink
Choose LucidLink if your team opens, edits and saves large project files every day and wants a shared drive that mounts on the desktop. Its filespace gives real-time file access and collaboration.
Stay with LucidLink too if zero-knowledge encryption is a rule for your clients. If the team already works inside a LucidLink filespace, keep working files there. For the question of what sits between a team drive and the client, read client portal vs file sharing.
Who should choose Tarkle
Choose Tarkle when the work ends with someone outside your team and the files must reach them and come back. Here is how Tarkle covers that job:
You send finished files. A client opens one public link and downloads without an account. On Pro and Agency, each file can be up to 200 GB.
You need files back. A file request lets you collect files from anyone with one link, into the folder you choose.
Your brand matters. Free includes custom branding and a custom domain. On Agency, the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink is replaced by your agency name once White label is on and the Agency plan is active.
You want to know it arrived. Check the transfer's status before you chase anyone.
You manage many clients. Agency includes 20 workspaces for your clients and 6 TB of cloud storage. See file sharing for agencies for a workflow.
One limit, stated once: the part Tarkle does not cover is live editing inside a mounted drive, which is what LucidLink's filespace is built for.
To judge it for yourself, send one real transfer. The Free plan is $0 forever, so you can test with a real project at no cost. Start for free, upload a project and send the link to a client.
Switching from LucidLink to Tarkle
You do not have to move everything. Keep working files in the drive and move only what clients see.
Pick the files clients see: finals, proofs and source files after approval.
Copy them from your LucidLink filespace to your computer.
Create a Tarkle account, add your custom branding, and connect a custom domain.
Upload the files to a folder, then create a transfer with a password and an expiry date.
For clients you work with often, use the client portal on Pro, or a workspace per client on Agency.
Send a file request to each client who owes you material.
Move one active client first. Run a real transfer and one file request with them before you change anything in your LucidLink account.
If the files also sit in Dropbox or Google Drive, Free includes importing a file from Dropbox or Google Drive, so you do not have to upload them by hand.
FAQ
Is Tarkle a LucidLink alternative? For sending files to clients and collecting files back, Tarkle is built for that job. For live work inside large files on a shared drive, LucidLink is the better fit.
Do my clients need an account to download? On a public Tarkle link, no. LucidLink guests can view and download, but read-only, from a link an admin creates.
Does Tarkle have a free plan? Free is $0 forever, with 1 workspace, 5 GB of storage, uploads up to 1 GB, sharing and file requests, custom branding and a custom domain.
Can I put my own domain and logo on shared files? Free includes custom branding and a custom domain. On Agency, the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink is replaced by your agency name once White label is on and the Agency plan is active.
Is Tarkle as private as LucidLink? Tarkle's pricing page says: files are protected in transit and at rest, with access, expiration, and revocation controls. LucidLink describes zero-knowledge encryption, so if client contracts require it, LucidLink fits that rule better.
Can I use both? Yes. Keep working files in LucidLink and use Tarkle for the last step, where files go to the client and come back.
